The Life of Emma Thursby, 1845-1931

The Life of Emma Thursby, 1845-1931

The Life of Emma Thursby, 1845-1931

Excerpt

Although the name and fame of Emma Thursby was an honored tradition in the home of my youth, it was not until the summer of 1928 that I met her whom God had endowed so bountifully. No longer, at eighty-three, could she raise that voice for which the new world and the old had acclaimed her. Yet sweetness, and sympathy, and a courage that defied a great affliction -- the paralysis of her left side -- were crowns she wore with a nobility heightened by age and understanding. And all about her hung a spiritual fragrance.

In the brief years that followed to her death in 1931, on the fourth of July, many were our meetings, and strong, I believe, the bond between us. Never did I think in those days, however, that I would be chosen to recount her life's story. When the opportunity did come to recount this story, I at first demurred, since I was neither musician nor critic of music. Yet no one could challenge my interest in music, or my devotion to Emma Thursby; and this it was that finally actuated me to write.